Candles
by 3waypetal
Summary: Petunia Evans' thoughts on the people around her...represented through candles. One-shot


Disclaimer: It all belongs to J.K. Rowling.

Petunia Evans was bored and agitated. Lily, being who she was, which was perfect in every way, was out on a date with her new boyfriend James Potter. The rest of the Evans family was out on a business dinner with the company Mr. Evans worked for. She was the only one home for the night. It was the day before Christmas Eve. Flake after snowflake fell from the sky and pelted the ground, creating a big white blanket across her yard.

It was times like these that she loathed most. Moments where her thoughts drifted from her freely, making her wish and regret about the past and choices in the future to come across. The candle to her left flickered, taking Petunia out of her reverie. The tiny flame that it emitted barely seemed to light the corner in which it was situated. It was a fair sized candle, smooth and round and a pearly white color.

Petunia had other candles that were in her room. They were all making shimmery shadows against her walls. The pearly white candle was at the highest elevation on top her dresser, next to her purple brush and almond colored perfume. All the other candles were on her desk, shelves, beside table, and on her bookshelf. A big circular orange one that was on the middle shelf on her bookcase was producing the biggest flare. The fire fat and glowing.

She got up from her vanity chair, pulling her bathrobe closer around her lithe body. She walked over to her bookcase, hair sweeping over her shoulder blades, feet encased in slippers shuffling as she walked. The orange candle had a mass of wax in the center, hot and burning, glassy liquid. The candle let off a scent of pumpkin pie. She breathed it in deeply letting the smell drift up her nostrils.

She narrowed her eyes as though accusing the candle. This pumpkin pie scented candle seemed all wrong. It did not belong in her room. The candle was orange, how _vile_. She hated the color orange it reminded her of Halloween, which reminded her of Lily, which reminded her of Lily's abnormalcy. And pie? Her dad loved pie, and the color orange, and Lily. Why was this candle in her room? It was a freak candle like Lily, like James.

Without thinking she took a deep breath and blew the candle out. The smoke twirled, drifting up and forming swirls and curly-cues. Petunia just stood there, eyes focused on the now dull candle. She never blew out her candles. She let them burn out, waiting to see if possibly one of the candles was still blazing by the time she got up in the morning. If she blew out one candle it would be okay to blow out more right?

Without giving herself an answer she moved on to the next candle. This candle was red and brown. Mainly red with hints of brown peeking out of the waxy figure. Her lips turned into a thin line, this candle as much as she hated it, reminded her none other than Lily's boyfriend James.

The candle was slim and long. Making the appearance seem tall and lengthy. The flame was bright and warm illuminating the objects behind it. The more she looked at it, the image of James Potter in her mind became stronger. She disliked him from the moment they met. He was handsome, intelligent, polite, and charming. Her parents fell for James' wit and charm from the first time they crossed paths. She would never forget the way James captured her parents hearts the way Vernon never did. Plus James loved Lily. The perfect guy for the perfect girl.

She couldn't help but notice the way they acted around each other, so loving, so intrigued just by the way each of them would live their lives. Not that she and Vernon didn't care about each other, she just thought, as much as she wished it existed, to have the spark that drove Lily and James together.

Taking air in her lungs she blew out James' candle with a huff. She didn't even wait for the smoke to form and configure it'self, she swept her eyes over her considerably darker room. Her bulging brown eyes fell on a thick greenish-yellow one. Once again she walked over to the candle, and bent down on her knees. Her nightdress wrinkled as she sat down on the plush carpet.

She didn't even need to think about who this candle reminded her of. Vernon had bought her this candle when she agreed to become his girlfriend. A candle might seem like an odd gift to give your newfound girlfriend, but Vernon knew her incubation with candles and she whole heartedly accepted. Now the candle seemed dull and boring. The slimy greenness of the candle reminded her of vomit and the thickness in volume reminded her of a grumpy Vernon in a fuzzy green sweater.

Without giving much consideration she extinguished the flame. It let out one puff of grey smoke before becoming nothing more that a stick of wax. She went to the next candle without even thinking. This candle was the brightest, blaring it's light across her room. This one was an intense green, and emerald green to be more elaborate. A clear sparkling picture of Lily's face popped into her head. Her eyes shining and glinting like the flame on the candle.

Anger and jealousy started to pulse through her. She had almost forgotten how she came to own this candle. Lily had given it to her on Easter when they were just little girls. She had kept it hidden away in her closet when Lily went to Hogwarts. She took it back out again when she and Vernon started dating to remind herself that she had something Lily didn't: a boyfriend. That feature was crushed this holiday when Lily brought James home.

She hurriedly blew out the candle for the fourth time that night. The room darkened from lesser light, but Petunia didn't seem to notice. Her eyes were focused on four small but accurately carved words in the candle. It said 'LOVE FOREVER, SISTERS FOREVER' Petunia sniffed in indignation. She did not love Lily in her mind, but her heart told her otherwise.

She didn't want to think about it anymore. She lifted her thin pale fingers and turned the emerald candle around so that the engraved words was facing the wall, and a clean blank surface was now toward her. A yawn escaped her lips as sleepiness took over her body.

It seemed late, the room was darker, although, much of it had to do with the now extinguished candle. She took off her bathrobe and slippers and wove into bed. The lavender sheets and comforter giving her warmth and comfort as she settled in.

A light from the corner of the room caught her attention, did she forget a candle? Wild hair playing across her pillows. She turned her head toward the light, finding herself looking into the glassy pearl white candle on her dresser. Petunia didn't move, or make any actions to get up and extinguish the last flame that would throw her room into darkness.

She didn't need to blow out this candle because it reminded her of herself- plain, no sparkling shine, wistful ambitions. The more she dwelled on it, the more she realized that if she were a candle she would be white, plain white. Nothing less and nothing more.

A/N: Hey just a quick write-up of Petunia. I actually wrote this quite a long time ago, but just now decided to put it on . Hope you enjoy reading it, reviews are appreciated!


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